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[PHOTOBOOK OF SOVIET PARKS] parkov SSSR [i.e. The Architecture of Soviet Parks]

Korzhev, M., Prokhorova, M.

Item #2681

[Moscow]: Izd-vo Akad. arkhitektury SSSR, [1940]. 140 pp., 9 ills., plan: ill., plans. 26,4 × 20,5 cm. In original publisher’s cloth. Small tear of the spine, rust at the staples in one place in the block. Otherwise good.

Scarce. First edition. 1 of 4,000 copies. Edited by B. Mikhailov. Binding and title-page by the artist N. Gitman. A rare Soviet photobook capturing the construction of parks in the USSR. The construction of parks in the Soviet Union was largely viewed as a fairground for “building new Soviet man”. Against this background, from the first years of the establishment of Soviet rule, the construction of parks became one of the priorities of Soviet architecture. By 1937, the number of parks across the cities of USSR amounted to 200 and continued to increase. Printed in 1940, this interesting photobook was compiled by the authors of the project of one of the largest parks in Moscow - IzmaylovskyPark - Mikhail Korzhev and M. Prokhorov. The former is nowadays considered to be the first Soviet landscape architect.
In the album, the authors set out the basic principles of park construction in the Soviet Union and examine the experience accumulated in the 1920s and 1930s Soviet architecture. According to Korzhev and Prokhorov, the main downsides of Soviet parks laid in the lack of compositional unity and the admiration for formalism, eclecticism, and constructivism. The edition features over 200 schemes and illustrations capturing the view of parks across multiple Soviet cities, including Tbilisi, Baku, Moscow, Alma-Ata, Smolensk, Tashkent, Nalchik, Rostov on Don, Tula, Nikolaev, Vologda, Gagra, Sochi, Odessa, Minsk, Crimea, Teberda. Sokhumi, Borjomi, etc.
The photobook showcases the initial appearance of parks many of which were either destroyed or significantly renovated overtime.

Price: $500.00